Comments for U.S. Republican Study Committee Releases Progressive Copyright Document Only To Withdraw Hours Later at http://www.michaelgeist.ca , comment 1 to 4 out of 4 comments http://www.michaelgeist.ca Wed, 22 May 2013 13:13:43 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.2 http://www.michaelgeist.ca/content/view/6702/125/#comment-49723 I hope that everyone that frequents this blog already saw this video: http://vimeo.com/45864549 But in case you haven't, the first part is again reinforced by this weekend's events. The good thing though is that it shows that there IS a younger generation out there, that is aware of these issues, and that at one point is going to take over. We can only hope they are not corrupted by the previous generation. Regarding the proposals, giving a blanket copyright term extension to EVERYTHING until 2024 is of course ridiculous. Don't forget: term extensions were retroactive, robbing society of value with no compensation, so there is no reason why term reductions can also not be retroactive without compensation. In the mean time, if any of Prof. Geist's students are reading this, propose a paper called "Valuation of Intellectual Property Portfolios for the Purpose of Taxation". Let's see how well that goes over. - Byte Wed, 21 Nov 2012 17:23:27 +0100 http://www.michaelgeist.ca/content/view/6702/125/#comment-49721 http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-57552687-38/leahy-scuttles-his-warrantless-e-mail-surveillance-bill/ C-30 redux, USA style. Good to see both sides of the border can stand against really bad ideas in legislation. This is why I have hope that progressive ideas such as presented by the GOP committee may one day get a foothold. - Crockett Wed, 21 Nov 2012 10:52:04 +0100 http://www.michaelgeist.ca/content/view/6702/125/#comment-49717 This is certainly a progressive step by the republicans. It's puzzling that the report seems to believe that copyright renewals are still a part of US law. It was a positive and unique aspect of US copyright law, but it was abandoned as a condition of the US signing on to the Berne Convention in favour of a life-plus-years automatic system. The graduated renewal proposal is interesting, but there is an important flaw that would need to be addressed. What would be the fee to renew a copyright on a work with minimal or low sales? I can easily imagine a situation where a company would want to retain copyrights on an older version to keep it off the market where it would compete with a newer version. - Ray Saintonge Tue, 20 Nov 2012 17:29:45 +0100 http://www.michaelgeist.ca/content/view/6702/125/#comment-49715 I see one of two things taking place in the next 20 years: 1) As current (or potential) candidates who are currently under 30 move into the political sphere of influence they will be able to make changes that reflect the current views and practices of society. or 2) Big money will continue to corrupt as usual. It seems the latter is still in force today, let's continue to hope for the future. - Crockett Tue, 20 Nov 2012 11:21:19 +0100